U.S. U-17 MNT Set For Semifinal Against Jamaica

SEMIFINAL BOUT SET: With a place at the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup already sealed, the U.S. is set for a semifinal match Friday against host Jamaica at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship. A capacity crowd is expected at Catherine Hall Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET. The match will be shown live on ESPN3, ESPN Deportes and streamed live at CONCACAF.com. Fans can also follow along with ussoccer.comâ€™s MatchTracker at on Twitter @ussoccer_ynt.

THEN THERE WERE FOUR: All four of the CONCACAF representatives for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup have been decided, with the four quarterfinal winners advancing. Panama, Canada, Jamaica and the U.S. will join host Mexico for the event, which kicks off on June 18 across seven Mexican cities. It will be the first FIFA U-17 World Cup for Panama, the first since 1995 for Canada and first since 1999 for Jamaica. The U.S. has continued its streak of being the only nation to have qualified for all 14 FIFA U-17 World Cups. In the mean time, the four will compete for the regional title with a CONCACAF champion being crowned for the first time since 1996.

CONCACAF U-17 Championship Semifinals

Date

Match

Kickoff (ET)

Venue

Feb. 25

Â Panama vs. Canada

4 p.m.

Catherine Hall Stadium; Montego Bay, Jamaica

Feb. 25

USA vs. Jamaica

7 p.m.

Catherine Hall Stadium; Montego Bay, Jamaica

Feb. 27

Third Place Game

4 p.m.

Catherine Hall Stadium; Montego Bay, Jamaica

Feb. 27

Final

7 p.m.

Catherine Hall Stadium; Montego Bay, Jamaica

SELL OUT EXPECTED: Considering the support the Jamaican U-17 national team has been receiving in Montego Bay, the U.S. can expect a raucous atmosphere on Friday night. Jamaica has sold out all of their home games so far and a capacity crowd is expected at Catherine Hall Stadium on Friday night. The Jamaican fans have already seen the Reggae Bozy clinch a spot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and are hoping their support will help the team advance to the CONCACAF championship.

FIRST THROUGH THE GROUP: The U.S. has picked up three straight wins thus far in this tournament, earningÂ a 3-1 opening win against Cuba andÂ topping Panama 1-0 to round out Group B play. Andrew Oliver netter twice for the U.S. in the two group games to help his team finish first and move on to the all-important quarterfinal game against El Salvador.

OUTLASTING EL SALVADOR: It took all 120 minutes, but the U.S. was able to knock off El Salvador in overtime of their quarterfinal match. Two early goals â€“ Alejandro Guidoâ€™s in the fourth minute and Salvadoran Jose PeÃ±aâ€™s in the ninth â€“ left the match at 1-1 through 90 minutes. Into the extra periods, Mario Rodriguez added an American goal in the 95th minute and Marc Pelosi tallied what would be the game-winner in the 112th minute. Gerardo Iraheta capitalized on a penalty kick in the 115th minute, but El Salvador was unable to mount enough of a comeback.

U.S. CONCACAF U-17 Championship Results

Date

Opponent

Result

U.S. Goalscorer(s)

Feb. 14

Cuba

3-1 W

Koroma, E. Rodriguez, Oliver

Feb. 18

Panama

1-0 W

Oliver

Feb. 22

El Salvador

3-2 W

Guido, M. Rodriguez, Pelosi

QUICK HITS

The Americans qualified for the semifinals of the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, then an eight-team event. The tournament in Tijuana, Mexico, was cancelled before the semifinal matches were played.Â

The U.S. will be without starting goalkeeper Fernando Pina and left back Kellyn Acosta after both picked up red cards against El Salvador. Midfielder Matt Dunn and forward Mario Rodriguez will also be suspended due to yellow card accumulation.Â

Pelosiâ€™s game-winner against El Salvador was his team high seventh goal in international games.Â

Pelosi also leads the team in U-17 caps with 23 appearances.Â

Andrew Oliverâ€™s goals against Cuba and Panama were his fifth and sixth international goals of his U-17 career, and his first two of 2011.Â

U.S. head coach Wilmer Cabrera has given minutes to 19 of the 20 players on the roster through the three games.Â

Only three U.S. players have played all 300 minutes so far in this tournament: Andrew Souders, Mobi Fehr and Esteban Rodriguez.Â

In total, 13 players on the roster joined the U.S. U-17 Residency Program from U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs, spanning all four Conferences and six of the 10 divisions.

CHECKING OUT THE ROSTER: So far, U.S. head coach Wilmer Cabrera has called on 19 of the 20 rostered players through three games and has used three different starting lineups. Heâ€™ll be need to settle on a different 11 for Fridayâ€™s match with three starters from Tuesdayâ€™s game facing suspension. Kendall McIntosh, who came on after Fernando Pina was sent off against El Salvador, will get his first start against Jamaica.

WE HAVE HIGHLIGHTS: If youâ€™ve missed a game, or just want to relive the U.S. teamâ€™s quest to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, ussoccer.com has highlights that you wonâ€™t find anywhere else. Pick your favorite U.S. goal or follow your favorite player as they march toward the CONCACAF U-17 Championship.

A LOOK AT THE HOSTS: With the full backing of their home supporters, Jamaica has advanced to their first FIFA U-17 World Cup since 1999. Tied atop the Group C standings with Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica won the drawing of lots to take first place and set up a quarterfinal match with Group D runner up Honduras. Two goals from Jason Wright, who now has four in the tournament, helped lift Jamaica to a 2-1 win and a place both in Mexico and the CONCACAF semifinals.

U.S. U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The U.S. has won the CONCACAF championship twice at this level, in 1983 and 1992, but because those were U-16 events, the U.S. has technically never won the CONCACAF U-17 Championship. When the qualifying tournament was held as two groups in separate venues, the U.S. won its group three times (2001, 2003, 2005).

JOIN US IN MONTEGO BAY: The YNT Blog has everything you need to keep up with the U.S. U-17 MNT as they seek a (technically) first-ever CONCACAF U-17 crown. Take a peek at exclusive behind the scenes info and all the news and stories from Montego Bay, including what a typical rest day looks like and the playersâ€™ afternoon spent riding a banana boat.

YNT ON TWITTER: U.S. Soccer's Twitter feed geared specifically toward fans of U.S. youth national teams and the Development Academy reached 1,000 followers on the same day that the U-17 Men qualified for the 2011 FIFA World Cup. Follow @ussoccer_ynt to keep up with YNT and Academy news and notes during an important year for the programs.